Safety device for vehicles, particularly power-driven vehicles



A; ADDICKS Dec. 30, 1930.

SAFETY DEVICE FOR VEHICLES PARTICULARLY POWER DRIVEN VEHICLES Filed Jan. 31. 1929 eave ooo Patented Dec. 30, 1930 I ALBERT Annic s, on soiwweannn; NEAR BRAKE; GERMANY V SAFETY DEVICE'FOR- VEH-IQLES; PARTICU LARLY iOWER-DRIVEN VEH'IQLES f i p mati nam J ng a y 3 ,1929 e a 5 and in ee e en lm v w v Safe y devices ar 7 k o Y 'hi h a mounted fin frontef the vehicle wheels. These safety devices, particularly'in, the case pf railroad and other'rail vehicles; are rig- 5 idly inounted and jonly seldorn fulfill their pl1rpose ,,hecause theydonot extend suili ciently far downwardst Such rigid catching ;;racks or catching cages cannot he madeto extend downward right to the'upper' surface mof'the trackfbecause the presence'of irregui .laiities thereon must-he reckoned with or [Some kind ofhody, stones, projections 01' the like. which may bepresent onthe track. 'In

the case of vehicles i nnning-onjthe roads;

. safety devic'es are known Which are notrigid "but aresivivelly :inounted and when not in action are folded, lifted or bent jnpward or occupy a position so that they neither detract frornthe appearance of the vehicle nor get in thevvay When'the I 1 orthe like are presentthereon. v r

These latter safety ,levices are only brought into operative position when the necessity arises." This is effeetedeither 2 hand or automatically, The throwing 111 by hand. is uncertain as there is ofteninsuflicient time to carry out the necessary manipulations in the case of aperson suddenly coming. in frontfof the vehicle and naturally the driver insuch cases just applies thebrake to bring the vehicle to a standstill. ,v-Qwing ,to these circumstances it hasbeen' proposed to do away with the operationhy hand and to allowcatching rack or cage to be operated .autornaticallyi Withthis ohjectfin viei-v' the Qbrakepf the vehicle, is so arranged that;

v, lwhen"moved!.to a certain degree, it releases theretaining-means ofthefs'afety device, or fthis isjefiectedbyenieans of a forwardly ex- 40, tending releasing ele nent, so that Z the saiety e 1 v; edr;ps: down gander v the action of gravity an'del g. picks up or'pushes to one side the person lying onthetr a ck candyprevents ac ire son lom ng nde i c l lscWit Lthis actnatinglmethod ofjthe safetydevice U the desired safe Working is however not 211- l j i'v ays attained, owing to. the releasing not I ,t l iii g la i uiok yen u h 'rd ne.

not jacting at alljor too late. A 'further 010- wiisct cni salset e ithe z af yil ifi es track is uneven or, stones l v of the vehicle.

into operation even when the brake is being applied for some other reason when it is not a'question'of protecting a person having come in front of the vehicle orthrough the releasing dev ce striking against-soine ob eject mother, and thenthe device can always only he broughtback to its inoperative posifore immaterial how these catching racks or catching baskets are themselves constructed. 'Inthis actuating deviceit is not 11ecessary to release any special holdingarrangenient hutit is always"looseiin'position' ready forimmediateoperation. This device is actuated by the alteration of the speed of the Vehicle {it the h rakingthis device is operated, Wlthout any speclalinanipulation, merely by the sudden reduction in speed, and

it rises again automaticallyyi. e. returns to its inoperative position, Without any sp'ecial manipulatlon, erely'by theincreased speed The idea of the, invention consists in that these safety devices are connectedwith 'os-' cillating or otherwiseactnated weightlevers,

' that the inertia of this sivingingipendulum which, on braking, swings forwiard and,

"when starting or at increasingcofthe running" Zversely. T he throwing in 'of the device at the nioinent of danger is thus not dependent upon the releasing" of the retaining mechanisin, lwhich' niostly 'detriment'ally "afiects' the; swinging down: novelnentfand it is also not necessary to hr ngthe dropped device back to its inoperative position; as thisfis carried out automatically when the vehicle again startspr iincreases its speed. Safety devices "actuated in this 11151-111161,

"Woiild i considerably" increase the running safety of all vehicles, railways, lorries, omnibuses, private ears, street cars and the like, '1. e. of all conveyances because the=dr1ver of the vehicle is free from the actuation of the safety; device. As the device is returned antenata l ath iine'a set v lre itie when the vehicle starts running, it will not be necessary to allow same to assume the operative position only when the brakes are being very strongly applied, but it can be adjusted so that it immediately assumes its operative position in the case of slight danger. .The driver of the vehicle need not take any heed thereof, as the device swings back without his aid.

This operative arrangement of the safety rack or safety cage thus works not only more accurately and reliably than all other previous arrangements of the kind, but it also relieves the driver of the vehicle and consequently thereby greatly increases the safety of travel.

Several embodiments of the invention are shown by way of example in the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is aside elevation of the safety device in conjunction with known form of buffer,

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 shows a special means of releasing the safety device,

Fig. 1 represents a means of effecting the movement of the safety device through levers, and

Fig. shows the movement of the safety device, produced by the rolling of a ball in a bent tube.

The safety device consists of a known catching cage or catching rack composed of individual bars 1 which can be mutually connected by. a wire net. These bars 1 in the construction shown by way of example are ar ranged in lever arms 2. According to Fig. 1 these lever arms 2 are oscillatably mounted on an axle 3 which is rotatably mounted on the retaining straps 4 of buffer bars 5. Each of the levers 2 forms a two-armed lever the rear arm (5 of which extends upwards at a suitable angle and is provided with a pendulum weight 7. This pendulum weight 7 can be shifted as desired on the lever 6 and is secured I thereon by means of a retaining device 8. If the vehicle is sharply braked the pendulum weights 7 owing to their inertia swing upwards around their axle 8, until the lever arms 6 strike against a stop 9. Owing to this swinging movement of the lever arms 6 the lever arms 2 carrying the catching cage 1 are simultaneously brought down in front of the running wheels. Upon the vehicle starting or proceeding after braking the catching cage 1 automatically resumes its original position parallel to the track.

Fig. 3 shows a protecting device in which the safety cage is also brought intothe operative position by means of pendulum weights. When the vehicle is being. braked the pendulum weight 10 fitted to a pendulum arm 11 is thrown forward and caught by a stop 12. By this movement a retaining claw 13 is. released which engages a retaining de- 'moved into its raised position by the vice 14: for the safety cage 1. Owing to the inertia of the pendulum, this will be swung upward around the lever arm 15 of the retaining element 2 for the safety cage, which is formed as a two-armed lever, until the pendulum presses against a stop in the form of a rubber buffer 16 or the like. When the pendulum is in this position the catching cage 1 is in a vertical position in front of the running wheels. In this form of construction the catching cage also returns to its initial, position through the 'gravityof the pendulum. lVhen in swung back position the pendulum weight 10 also rests on a rubber buffer 17. According to Fig. 1 the catching device is also brought into its operative position, i. e into a vertical position in front of the running wheels, by the inertia of a pendulum. In this form of construction a pendulum formed as a two-armed lever 18, 19 oscillating around an axle 20 arranged on a retaining bar 21. The lever arm 18 is provided at its'outer end with a pendulum weight 22. hen the vehicle is brought quickly to a standstill, this pendulum weight, through its inertia, is swung forward and moves the catching cage 1, 2 into its operative position by means of a lever system 23 hingedly connected to the lever arm 19; In this form of construction, as in the two previous arrangements, the catching device is also automatically returned into its raised position. The arrangement of the pendulum can also be in any desired form, thus it can consist, as shown in Fig. 5, of one or more tubes 2 1 bent to a certain angle in which a ball 25 of a certain weight rolls. The bent tube can be provided at both ends with an adjusting device 26. The arrangement of the lever system can be of any desired kind or situated under the device so that in the case of the brakes being suddenly applied the device will always be moved into its operative position through the inertia of the pendulum or ball, and the device, when the vehicle is at standstill or proceeds, will be pendulum or the ball.

I claim:

1. A safety device for vehicles, specially power driven vehicles, comprisin in combination a catching device oscillata ly mounted under the vehicle frame in front of the two front wheels, and a counterweight device on the upper end of said catching device actuated by inertia when the vehicle is suddenly stopped or started.

2. A safety device for vehicles, specially power driven vehicles, comprising in combination an axlefixed under the vehicle frame in front of the front wheels, a catching de vice oscillatably mounted on said axle and consisting of a frame with transverse bars and of a wire net stretched over said frame, an arm rearwardly projecting at an angle and a heavy mass adjustably fixed on each arm near the free end of the same adapted to be actuated by inertia when the vehicle is suddenly stopped or started.

3. A safety device for vehicles, specially power driven vehicles, comprising in combination an axle fixed under thevehicle frame in front of the front wheels, a catching device oscillatably mounted on said axle and consisting of a frame with transverse bars and of a Wire net stretched over said frame, an arm rearwardly projecting at an angle from the top end of each side of said frame, a heavy massadjustably fixed on each arm near the free end of-the same adaptedto be actuated by inertia when the vehicle is suddenly stopped or started, and stops for the two extreme positions of said oscillatable arms.

4. Asafety device for vehicles, specially power driven vehicles as specified in claim 1, comprising in combination with the catching device, two-armed levers one at each end of said catching device, and a heavy mass adjustably mounted on therear arm of each lever.-

' 5. A safety device forvehicles, specially power drivenvehicles as specified in claims 1,

comprising in combination with the catching device, two-armed levers one at each end of said catching device, a heavymassadjustably mounted on the rear arm of each lever,

a stop on the vehicle frame, and a hook on said two-armed lever adapted to grip over said stop when the corresponding pendulum lever is in the inoperative position and to disengage from said. stop when the pendulum lever is oscillating at the braking.

6. In asafety device as specified in claim 1 comprising in combination with the pendulum lever andwith the catching device, a V pivot axle onsaid catching device, and means connecting said pendulum lever with said catching device consisting of a system of hinged levers hingedly mounted at the one end on said pendulum leverand at the other end on said pivot axle.

pendulum lever. I In testimony, whereof I aflix my signature.

7. In a safety device as specified claim 1,

means for adjusting the heavyfimasses on the pendulum lever to any desired position.

8. In a safety device as specified in claim 1,

the combination of an abutment With the catching device and ofan abutment with the j g ALBERT ADDICKS. 

